Passing Glances
by Uxiea
Summary: AU where Leslie is an artist who is taking a break from her job at the Parks Department in Pawnee, Indiana. On one of her days out drawing Ramsett Park, she sees Ben, who is a therapist to help cope with his own problems, and constantly draws him from afar wherever she goes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

"Tick tock, it's party o'clock!" the alarm buzzed. It repeated the same tune, increasingly becoming more irritating, which it already was.

"Leslie, why the hell is that your alarm sound?" Ann spoke from the other room. "I can hear that crap down the hall."

"I'm sorry," I replied. "I'm not sure why I have it either, but it works, doesn't it?" I smiled. I needed something annoying to wake me up each morning. I hated missing mornings; I loved them with all my heart. Plus, I'd be very disoriented if I got more than four and a half hours of sleep. My life has become very accustomed to a life of few amounts of sleep and overworking myself. I jumped out of bed and started brewing a cup of coffee. I grabbed a mug, poured the coffee and sprayed an unhealthy amount of whipped cream on it. Ann came walking out of her room and sat at the table.

"Annnnnnnnnn!" I complained. "Can you make us waffles?"

She groaned. "I suppose so, but I need to leave for work soon. The hospital is making most of the nurses come in earlier for some reason. I think training or something." She got up and grabbed the waffle iron and mix as I shifted papers around on the table to make room for plates, and put them all in the bag near my feet. Ann came back, sat across the table and noticed my bag.

"What's in there?" she pointed with her foot.

"It's just stuff for work. Pictures of parks, paintings I've made to help liven up the hallways." I responded with a sigh.

"So you're still working for Parks and Rec?"

"I suppose I am, but Ron said that I needed an indefinite amount of time off."

"So...you were fired? Suspended?" Ann looked puzzled and concerned.

"I dunno, but it's given me time to find new hobbies out of boredom," I started, but as I spoke I started to feel disgusted with myself. "Ugh, just saying that made me feel uneasy. This is driving me up the wall!" I sulked in my chair, groaning, and repeatedly tapped my head on the table.

"Well, it hasn't been _that _long. I'm sure you'll adjust." Ann took my empty coffee mug to the sink while she pulled out the waffles from the iron and I left the table to get dressed. When I came back, she wasn't there. _Must be in the shower, _I thought to myself. _Oh jeez, it's 7:45! I gotta go for a run. _I laughed to myself; I was kidding about the running thing. I wanted to look appealing to you readers, to look like I spent my time off doing something constructive, to keep in shape. I was about to run out the door, but I forgot that Ann made waffles.

"I'm taking these waffles you made, Ann! And the whipped cream cans!" I expected a response, but only heard running water down the hall. "Alright, bye Ann! See you later and I hope you don't have to pull something strange out of someone's butt at work!" I shouted, and then ran out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

It was now about eight, and I sat on a bench in Ramsett Park, continuously feeding the ducks pieces of my waffle. I reached in my bag and pulled out my sketchbook, grabbing whatever pencils were rolling around and started drawing the pond with the ducks. I attempted to capture the early morning sunlight cascading onto the water's surface with the mediocre skills I was honing. A few people walked or ran by, causing me to subconsciously draw them too. As I continued my drawing, a man who looked to be about my age from where I was sitting, stood beside the pond and stared out at the scenery on the other side. He turned around and walked towards the bench next to mine. While he was doing that, I got a closer look at his face; a very defined and handsome one. He pulled out a cup of soup as he sat down and started eating, a solemn look on his face as he started to eat. _I guess he's not one that feels easily embarrassed, _I thought to myself. _Most people wouldn't be caught dead doing something like that. _The man was wearing a green plaid shirt that would otherwise be aesthetically unpleasing if anyone else was wearing it, with a think black tie and khaki pants. I suppose I didn't realise how long I was staring at him, as he noticed I was doing so and proceeded to awkwardly wave at me while he ate his soup. I quickly turned away, flipped to another page in my sketchbook and started drawing him. But when I looked to that bench again, he was gone.


End file.
